Homeschooling?

I know it's a while off yet - our daughter only just turned three - but my husband and I have been talking about where we're going to send Bea to school year after next. She's going to go to nursery school next year, just to get her used to the idea of being away from us for little bits of time, but at the moment we're not sure about where she'll go to school after that. We've discussed homeschooling, though, which is what brings me here.Do any of you homeschool your kids? Why? What's it like, and do you enjoy it? Would you recommend it?

It can also be done very, very badly and absolutely ruin a child's life.

I know people who have done it because while there was an abundance of schools nearby, none of them were good. One of my friends was technically enrolled in a charter school, but did all her work at home. She started going to college part-time at 16. She's almost 19 now and a straight-A student.

Another friend homeschooled for high school through the same charter, and did very well. Her sister also decided to homeschool. She failed half her classes and never did any work. Her parents couldn't be bothered to make her work. She ended up dropping out.

The difference is the first two girls were highly motivated and able to work independently.

I'm homeschooling my 6yr old right now. This is our first year, kindergarten. And I absolutely love it! And so does he. I don't wear a denim jumper or have braided hair, and we don't do Bible studies (no offense to those that do). We're a young, secular homeschooling family in a major metro area. Our county is one of the top counties in the country in regards to public schools. But my husband and I have different ideas of what's important in a child's education and growth than what the federal or state government has. In my county alone there are over 3,000 homeschooling families. There are so many resources here, whether its co-ops, museums, county rec classes for homeschoolers, etc.

There are many reasons to homeschool and there are many reasons not too. Right now, this year, homeschooling worked for us. I plan to keep him home next year as well. I have no problems sending him up to school with the rest of the neighborhood kids if for some reason it's not working for us.

Last edited by mylittleking; May 30th, 2013 at 11:18 PM.
Reason: iPad errors

I have never homeschooled (my oldest is 4) but I have looked into it quite a lot. The best homeschooling situations I have seen have involved co-ops and charter schools. Typically kids do the majority of their academics at home and then participate in extra-curricular activities away from home (music, art, science lab, drama, sports). The families that I know that do home school are very bright. They usually study for 2-3 hours a day and since the pace and curriculum is molded to the individual child it is very efficient. I've also seen how crippling it can be to keep kids from any kind of large group/social learning. I would love to homeschool, but my son loved his time in preschool this year and is already looking forward to kindergarten in the fall. I live in an area with great schools, but I am still skeptical of how good his education can be with 20 other students his age. When it comes down to it, I feel like I am responsible for the education he receives and I will supplement as necessary to see that he has a well rounded education. If he ever wanted to homeschool (I'm not betting on it) I'd be happy to give it a try.

Last edited by skarbassoona; May 31st, 2013 at 01:26 AM.
Reason: oldest is 4 not youngest lol